An Archangel's Heart
by Tracy137
Summary: Ariella Drisko is a strange one; but at least she's willing to give a rejected and bitter archangel a second chance; even when so many others want him dead for his final actions in Vega. Can she save the soul battered and heartbroken Michael; not only from those who hunt him, but most of all from himself? MichaelxOFC
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I don't own 'Dominion' or any of its characters (though I would dearly love to get control of Michael. Hubba, hubba.) The series is the property of Bold, Sony and Universal. So there is no copyright infringement intended, nor do I intend to tick anyone off – so please don't sue me, I'm poor enough already! But I do own the story itself and the non-'Dominion' characters….**_

 _ **This is my first 'Dominion' fanfic. It's based mostly around Michael, but also the rest of the 'Dominion' cast. It will be based around my own character and Michael. When I started writing this story there was no guarantee of a season 2, of course now we know it's about to begin in the next few weeks for many of us. However, a lot of the early chapters for my story (which set the basics of the plot) were already written before the announcement of a second season was made; so it's likely to be very different to the start of season 2 (based on the trailers I've seen at least).**_

 _ **I may well try to incorporate parts of the new season in later chapters, but certainly these early ones will remain as they are; to change them too much would completely destroy the plotline I have already (pretty much) mapped out. my story will start a very short while after the finale of season 1, as Michael left Vega to escape the guilt of what he'd done.**_

 _ **I do not intend to rip off any other writer, so if this premise has been done before I'm sorry; I just hope mine is different enough for it not to be too boring. But if I digress from the series too much don't shoot me as I'm old, and the brain (what little I have) is not what it used to be! LOL! I will also have a 'warning' if necessary at the start of each chapter and a reason for it, if it's necessary - such as for swearing. There does appear to be a few issues with uploading at the moment, so if there's any extra spaces near words in italics rest assured I have tried, and failed, to correct it - hopefully it won't detract too much from the flow of the story for readers.**_

 _ **If you've read any of my other stuff and liked it, hopefully you'll like this too.**_

 _ **WARNING: MIGHT BE SOME MILD SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.**_

 _ **All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.**_

' _ **Thoughts'**_

" **Speech"**

 **Ariella is the anglicised female version of the Hebrew name Ari'el; the name means 'lioness of God' and can also mean 'sprite'.**

 **Summary: Ariella Drisko is a woman that is willing to give a rejected archangel a second chance; even the soul-battered and heart-broken Michael. MichaelxOFC**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 _ **An Archangel's Heart**_

 _ **Prologue**_

Michael finally realised he'd played into Gabriel's hands when he'd been lying on the floor of a dusty old ruin of a house for what he thought might've been three days; or it could've been three weeks or perhaps even longer. He was completely oblivious to the passage of time...since...since...he forced his mind away from that terrible night in Vega; the night when all he'd worked for, all he'd put his hope and, yes, even his faith, into had fallen to dust and ruin.

He glanced disinterestedly around and knew he was in what had once no doubt been a comfortable living room. A house that had probably been a much loved home for a family; close-knit and happy who, when they were here had no idea of the nightmare to come and so had lived, laughed and loved their lives away.

A family who were probably long dead now; either killed in the Extermination War, or the hell on the earth that followed. However, now nature and the elements had reclaimed most of the house – the front wall had partially collapsed along with some of the roof.

He was lying under the part that hadn't – not even caring if it did; he'd reached a point where he truly didn't think he wanted to survive anymore. This existence was becoming torture; loathed by his own kind, hounded by his brother and sister, abandoned by his Father and hated by the humans. There didn't seem anywhere to turn, no chance of redemption – so why fight the inevitable any longer?

He had, quite literally, crashed into the front wall of the dwelling when he landed – so blinded by grief and rage at what had been done to his own kind and the stupidity of his rage in retaliation. He'd not only killed Becca, but had nearly killed the Chosen; and worse, almost betrayed the trust of both Jeep and Charlie to keep Alex safe.

His powering into the wall was what had actually caused the collapse to happen he remembered now; but, being exhausted and truly not caring whether he lived or died anymore, he merely crawled under the covered section and elected to remain there. Let the humans, puny beings that they were, see if they could deal with his brother without his help; especially now that Uriel, his sly little sister, also seemed to be up to something.

However, that didn't take away what _he'd_ done; he couldn't believe how he'd acted; how foolish he'd been. But when he'd seen the butchery done to another angel – the sudden knowledge that Becca, one of the few he'd foolishly allowed himself to trust so _much_ , possibly had even begun to love – that she had betrayed him so _deeply_...well, he'd lost all sense of reason in that moment. He'd always had a bad temper; their Father had always told them it was his main failing – it certainly was that night.

He knew that Alex would react badly and probably do something supremely stupid; but he wasn't really sure he could care any longer. He wasn't even sure he truly gave a damn about humanity as a whole anymore, let alone one little human – Chosen or not. He hadn't hurt Alex, he had kept him safe to adulthood; he was not there now – so he had not broken his promise to Charlie and Jeep; not really. So he could just stay here; stay here and merely...cease to exist - blissful oblivion. He let his fractured mind wander into unconsciousness...

However it seemed that whatever powers that be, who controlled all their destinies in God's absence, had decided they had other ideas as to his fate.

0-0-0-0

Ariella Drisko had wandered into the area scavenging for supplies. Over the ensuing years since the Extermination War the pickings had grown ever slimmer; however, her little settlement had been able to be fairly self sufficient - with luck, a fair wind and more than a little ingenuity of the brand McGyver had once enjoyed.

Considering their power capabilities were laughingly poor compared to that of, say, Vega, they did alright. Of course it was time consuming to try and make medicines and other such items last because it was unclear when or, more likely, _if_ they'd ever be able to get more; but it was a small price to pay for freedom.

Obviously living in Vega would've been the smart choice; but the ramshackle group of survivors she belonged to were too far 'out there' to be able to cope with the totalitarian dictatorship of the likes Vega had to offer.

They'd have chafed at the shackles that the so-called 'safe city' would've draped them in; grated at the huge disparity of circumstances between the likes of House Whele and House Reisen and the rest of the V designations – most notably the V1s; let alone those poor condemned souls considered so worthless they didn't get that lowly designation.

They wouldn't have lasted a day without trying to start a revolution, of that she was sure. She, certainly, would have been at the front of any populace uprising – yelling for a _fair_ division of labour and supplies...and, no doubt, the hypocritical David Whele and Edward Reisen's heads on very large, pointy sticks.

So, it was that her and one other were here; on one of their few supply runs these days - few because they were growing their own food and hunting the few animals that hadn't been killed during the war, and doing okay overall.

As they stayed out of Vega's 'assistance check' zone – where the military arm of the city harassed any new settlements into going to the 'safety' beyond their walls - and they fended for themselves, they therefore stayed off Vega's radar. So, for now, they were doing fairly okay.

Whilst those who were at the bottom of Vega's totem pole spent all and every day scavenging just to survive, those at the top – the so-called 'senators' - lived lives of spoilt luxury, in the top class hotels that were part of Las Vegas back in the day; merely meandering around pretending to 'work'. She depised those power mad idiots for subjugating the few that were left to virtual slavery; where did this give Gabriel the idea that mankind had learned their lesson and were now worth saving?

Whilst mulling the insanity of those who _thought_ they ran the world now, she noticed one of the houses had collapsed at the front. Damn it – she was hoping to use the houses, which _had_ been intact, for the winter if they could; looked like they'd be staying in the caves now. If one house had fallen, the others could be in a dangerous state too; she couldn't risk their people's safety by chancing it, not just for a bit of old style 'homely' comfort.

She sighed; still, the older folks amongst them preferred the caves anyway – they remembered how the houses got taken apart like they were matchsticks, even the brick ones, so the angels and their angelic 'dogs', what they called 'eight balls' now, could get at them. They viewed the caves as safe; with a mountain on top of them, she had to admit they had a point. She shook her head; is that what humanity had finally come full circle to? They started out in caves and now they were ending up back in them?

It was as she was pondering this depressing thought, she saw the figure under part of the collapsed roof. What the hell was a person doing there? They hadn't seen any people in weeks, perhaps even months; she was about to turn to Tegan, when the form moved...and she realised _who_ it was...


	2. Chapter One

_**Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 and I'm not writing it all out again...**_

 _ **WARNING: MIGHT BE SOME MILD SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.**_

 _ **All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.**_

' _ **Thoughts'**_

" **Speech"**

 **Summary: Ariella Drisko and her friend Tegan argue over Michael... MichaelxOFC**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 _ **Archangel's Heart**_

 _ **Chapter One**_

"Oh my _God!"_ Ariella exclaimed "this is _Michael!_ Pardon the pun and all that."

Tegan, her best friend and erstwhile leader strode over "certainly looks like him." She glanced over the unconscious being on the ground in front of her; her face went impassive, her voice cold "leave him..."

"What?!" Ariella spun round "we can't just _leave_ him here!"

Tegan looked coolly at her; her leader's face on "why not?"

"Because it's _Michael,_ Teeg; the _archangel_ Michael – the one that stuck up for mankind against Heaven itself; against even _God_ and Gabr..."

Before she could finish, her best friend, sister almost, was in her face hissing "do you _know_ what he did back at Vega?!"

Ariella stood her ground "yes, I do – _I_ gave you that intel and do _you_ knowwhat was done to _him?_ They treated him with contempt at best, and downright suspicion at worst – no matter _what_ he did, it was _never_ good enough. Then, finally, they betrayed him, Teeg; in the _worst_ possible way – they butchered angels that had sought refuge there, angels he'd offered sanctuary to; they tortured and experimented on them. I got contacts there and apparently it was pretty nasty stuff. We both know about betrayal don't we? Who's to say we wouldn't have done the exact same thing in his shoes?"

Tegan threw up her hands in exasperation and stalked a few paces away "I still don't know why you don't lead our merry band – you're the one with all the answers, Ella!"

"No, I'm not – but I _do_ still know right from wrong, and leaving him here to..." she glanced down at the dust and dirt encrusted, comatose archangel "...well, however the hell they die, is _not_ right."

"Can you imagine what will happen when we bring him back?"

Ariella shrugged "we're _not_ Vega, Teeg – most people at camp still trust him; those that don't, can come see me. I'm sure I can clear their minds if it becomes necessary..." she smiled darkly at the coffee coloured woman before her with the mass of spiralling jet black curls.

Tegan hesitated and Ariella went for the kill; her surrogate sister knew her better than to dither – Ella always knew she could win then. As her brother had taught her – if the enemy thinks they have the upper hand...break it to show them they don't.

"I'm sorry for pulling the 'hero' card Teeg, but I saved you;" she didn't give the other woman a chance to reply before continuing "I saved you from a bunch of eight balls when your own husband had hand fed you to them to save himself – then I took care of him too, before nursing you back to health. I've never asked for much; I don't believe in making people owe you when you do something because it's just the right thing to do."

Tegan sighed quietly "no, I know that, Ella – you never did; not even over your orphan kids and MacDuff."

"Well, I'm calling it now – I _refuse_ to leave him here. You don't want him in camp, fine. I'll come back with you just long enough to grab my stuff and then I'll leave; the Pack may follow me, same with MacDuff, I won't stop them - they're all I can call mine now. Either way, I can come here and at least help him any way I can by myself. I'm not blackmailing you Tegan, I'm just stating facts. My conscience won't let me sleep at night any other way."

Her friend looked shocked but then smiled sadly "I'd have been surprised if you didn't put up a fight. But to leave _us_ Ella, that's harsh – you know how much we rely on you..."

"I won't stray far; I'll let you know where I am – but I won't leave Michael alone." She sighed and looked at the ground "I've broke a lot of rules, Teeg; I've not stuck to my code as much as I'd have liked to – I _have_ to draw the line somewhere; not turning my back on someone who needs my help is one rule I still have intact; and when that person has sacrificed _everything_ for me and my kind...well, he gets double dibs on me."

Her friend's shoulders slumped a little in defeat as Ella returned her gaze to her "he's your responsibility, Ella. You protect him, nurse him, feed him – _your_ rations too – and we'll say okay. Are those terms within your remit to accept?"

Ariella grinned at her best friend "I always thought you should've been a damn lawyer if the world hadn't gone mad, Teeg – but yeah, those terms are within my remit to accept." She looked at the large still form on the ground and squared her shoulders "now help me get him clear and onto Warrior's back."

Tegan eyed the man before her warily "do you think he's heavy?"

"Well, I doubt he's got the hollow bones that birds have, not from the wing spans I've seen up in the sky, and that's on the lower angels – I can't imagine how big his are. So yeah, I think he'll be heavy; they wouldn't have wings that large otherwise."

Tegan huffed as they grabbed an arm each and started tugging "Warrior's not going to be happy; for an Arabian mix he's mightily fussy."

Ariella chuckled "that _is_ the Arabian in him – apparently they're the most intelligent horses in the world, but they're also the most fussy and snooty."

"Yet you're the only one he _doesn_ ' _t_ bite..."

Ariella shook her head "nope, not true; he don't chew on MacDuff or the Pack either."

"Probably because they smell of you; what with the amount you _hug_ them and all."

"Hey, hey!" Ariella protested "not so loud, I got a rep to protect here – according to the Vega numb nuts, I'm a 'scary, violent nut-job'; they tell new recruits they don't want to mess with me." She beamed with pride as she added "apparently the mere _thought_ of tangling with me makes a lot of the newbies _cry_..."

Her friend rolled her eyes "and you say that like it's _not_ a bad thing?"

Ariella shrugged "it's not."

As they finally shouldered him loose of the debris and dragged him across the ground, Tegan looked up at the bright sky that was, thankfully, free of the winged enemy. She jerked her head skyward "would you like wings, Ella? Would you like to fly like them?"

Her friend chuckled even as she panted under the lion's share of the heavy weight of the muscular archangel "Teeg I get dizzy standing on a damn chair; I hated flying in the, relative, safety of a huge metal plane, the one and only time I had to do it – why the hell would I want _wings_? Little bits of bone, flesh and feather being all that stood between me and certain death...?"

Her friend wheezed a laugh and Ella grinned...but their amusement died as they heard Michael mutter "Becca; Becca I'm so sorry – sorry, sorry; sorry Becca...Becca..."

They shared a look and continued with their task in silence...

0-0-0-0

Finally they got him onto the horse and back to camp. Ariella, as she'd surmised, had help from some of the older survivors; those who were well aware how much Michael had sacrificed for humanity over the years since the war on mankind was declared and, even then, he'd refused to help exterminate them.

However, there were also some – much younger ones – who were newborns at the time or not born at all, who weren't as aware of what he'd done to save their species. They'd only heard about his recent actions at Vega and were convinced that Ariella and Tegan had brought a viper into their midst.

The former Ariella was profuse with her thanks for the little bits they'd given her for him and their help to move him. To the latter she was equally as profuse with her fists in making them understand that _she_ would not tolerate any acts of violence or condemnation towards the sick archangel in her quarters. They would treat her injured guest with respect, or she was going to punch their teeth so far down their throats their ancestors would be spitting them out.

Most of the cave system where they all lived was naturally formed; however there was a lot that had been hacked out by hand to form a set of linked 'rooms' for those wanting more space. Anyone wanting the 'additions' did it themselves, if others wanted to help that was fine – but it wasn't compulsory; of course the way things were, even back then in the early days of their settlement, they'd all pulled together.

Ariella remembered that, by the time everyone's quarters had been finished, her arms had ached and burned like they were on fire and they'd almost been frozen into immobility she'd overused them so much, and for so many months.

As it was she was lucky right now; MacDuff, the man that had been staying with her because he was scared to be alone since being found half-starved and near death out on the road, had finished, with her help, his own room which he said was all he wanted.

Ariella adored McDuff; he'd had broken bones all over his body; his spinal cord had been, thankfully, still intact and so they'd kept their fingers crossed he'd be able to walk again, and he had albeit with a bit of a limp. Ella was pretty sure he'd been left for dead because no one would've thought he could've survived such torture.

But survive he did; she nursed him, as she'd nursed Tegan and so many others after her, back to health. He reminded her of another man who'd stopped there some time back. He'd called himself a strange name...after a car...Mercedes?

No, that wasn't it – she tried running through all the car makes she could still remember in her head. But it had been so long ago that she barely recalled them now. Still, she persevered – Camry? No, that was wrong.

She huffed a breath of irritation as she watched over the unconscious archangel...Ford? Dodge? She could feel it, right there on the tip of her tongue – _damn_ it! Then it finally came to her – JEEP! That was it, Jeep. He'd been a nice enough guy; a little bit intense and keen to 'save the world', but he'd been nice.

He was an older man and regaled her with stories of his life before the war. She'd smiled and told him of hers; how she'd been sent, at age twelve, to visit a relative, an aunt here in the US so she could be bridesmaid for her cousin's wedding. She'd had to go alone as her family couldn't afford to accompany her, and so had stayed behind in the UK.

It had been such a beautiful day for a wedding; then Maeve, her cousin, and her new husband, who's name she could no longer remember, went on their honeymoon.

She'd told him of the moment when, later that night, all hell...well, a heavenly version of it, had quite literally broken loose. She'd remembered running down corridors and along halls to find her aunt and other relatives that had all been with her.

He nodded and had told her of the people he'd known down the years who'd died – no real details, just names. He told her of his son Alex who he'd left with his best friend the archangel Michael because he knew he could protect the boy far better than he could.

She frowned "sorry, but I would've rather stuck with family if I could've than any powerful angel – families stay together, especially these days; it's just the way it is."

Jeep shook his head "there's more at play here, little girl….." Normally she would've retorted to that, but she could see from his eyes that he'd seen far too much and felt far too old. Older than he probably was; so, to him, she perhaps did seem like a little girl. She remained quiet.

He sighed "…..you don't understand what's really going on." He gestured to the weird tattoos on his arms "these needed deciphering; Michael couldn't help, my wife was dead and Alex was so young." He shrugged "it killed me to leave him, but I had to."

"If it'd been one of my Pack I would've died first." It was her turn to shrug "but each to their own I guess." She eyed the tattoos "they that important then?"

He smiled bleakly "you wouldn't believe how much."

"Did you work out what they meant?"

"Nope. Spent years trying to – almost went mad in the process, but not a single solitary word became clear. Hell, I don't even know if there _are_ words there….."

She looked closely at them; a weird feeling swept over her and she had to shake her head to clear it. He watched her pale and then shake her head "what?"

"I don't know….." she shook her head again "it's like staring at them made my eyes go weird; fogged up my brain."

"Weird; fogged up?"

"Yeah….." she paused "my brother used to have this book; it was weird – he said if you stared at the pictures long enough you'd see the picture in amongst all the dots, or whatever. I never did – I'd stare and stare; until my eyes watered sometimes and my brain hurt, but I could never see them. But….just now…." She hesitated.

"What?"

"It was almost like the lines moved….." she paused and then sighed "I think you'll see the words, but only when you're meant to…."

"Is that what it said?" He sounded eager; obviously he thought she'd read something.

She smiled "no, Jeep – it didn't say anything to me; but I just get that feeling and my feelings are never wrong."

"Never?" he looked and sounded sceptical now.

" _Never."_

"Would you come with me? You talk real well….educated; I think they'd listen to you far more than me. They know me; I'm 'good ole Jeep' – Alex's dad, Michael's best friend, no one cares what I say. They just smile and nod; they don't _listen._ So would you?"

"To Vega?"

"Yeah."

She laughed like he'd said something really funny "hell no! They'd arrest me on sight, Jeep. I've killed as many of their gun bunnies as I have eight balls since Vega became the dictatorship that David Whele knows and loves. I don't like people putting a gun to someone's head to ensure they know how wonderful Vega is and they should live there."

"It can't be that bad…."

"How long's it been since you've been back?"

He slumped slightly "a long time – Alex was just a boy; he's a man now."

She smiled sadly and touched his arm "then, trust me, it's not like when you left; you'd do well to remember that. When any on their way to Vega come this way we try and stop them; though some do want to press on regardless."

Jeep frowned "It's _that_ bad?"

She glared "it's a dictatorship – I honestly don't know what it was like when you were there last; but now House Reisen and House Whele call the shots with their own lackies to back them up on the council. _They_ live in luxury whilst everyone else, especially the poor sods who are V1's and those with no V designations at all, struggle just to survive a single day."

She sounded angry and disgusted – he wondered what the hell had changed in the time he'd been gone….but with Michael there could it really be as bad she'd painted it? Surely he would've ensured a fairer distribution?

She watched him leave very soon after, having given his word he would say nothing of their existence to anyone at Vega. Whilst they obviously knew _of_ the Outpost, they didn't know _where_ it was. The fact no one had come around looking for them had proven he'd been one of the rare few to keep a promise.

Ariella dragged her mind back to the present and checked on the still comatose archangel – Michael…..she never thought she'd be this close to him. It was interesting to say the least – he looked like a normal person yet, she knew, he was anything but; oh no, through the eons Michael had always been a law to himself, hadn't he…


	3. Chapter Two

_**Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 and I'm not writing it all out again...**_

 _ **WARNING: SOME SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.**_

 _ **All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.**_

' _ **Thoughts'**_

" **Speech"**

 **Summary: Ariella reminisces about when she and Tegan met... MichaelxOFC**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 _ **An Archangel's Heart**_

 _ **Chapter Two**_

Michael had been unconscious for almost a week; she was running out of ideas, medication and food. She needed to hunt, she needed to scavenge and she needed him to come round, damn him! As he was, he was just dead weight; she couldn't allow that – if things continued she might yet have to take him and go….the thing about the world these days is there was no such thing as a 'free ride'.

Oh sure for the likes of Reisen and Whele there might be, but not for her and her own merry group. Tegan was of a like mind; they'd seen how things were at other settlements. The bigger they were the more corrupt the leaders; they'd always vowed they'd _never_ be like that.

She and Tegan were tighter than blood; she'd killed her husband for what he'd done to her. Cutting the tendon in her ankle so she couldn't run; cutting the one in her right wrist so she'd have only her weaker hand to fight them…..all just to give him a head start.

Jesus, but the world had gone mad; though she'd seen worse than that since the night Gabriel blew that cursed horn of his. Jesus! She always smiled when she said God or Jesus; always said "pardon the pun" when others were around.

Because until that terrifying night many _hadn't_ believed – she often thought what a double whammy it had been for atheists. Not only did heaven, God and angels exist – the latter two were pretty pissed at the world and out for vengeance. They must've been completely floored to find they were wrong and so epicly too.

Still, after despatching the eight-balls about behead Teagan and feast on her entrails, she'd made sure the injured woman wasn't about to expire. Weakly she'd told Ella what had happened; Ariella would never forget the look of dismayed betrayal in the other woman's eyes as she told her the man Ella had seen running as if Gabriel himself was at his heels was her own husband.

Apparently five years together was nothing when a coward's life was on the line. Well, he might be quick with a knife, but she was faster with both a bow _and_ a sword. she didn't like guns; guns were noisy and drew attention you didn't want and usually from above.

But swords were silent, so were arrows - no need for any nasties to be nosy; yet quick enough that her enemy, or her dinner, never even saw death coming...until he tapped them on the shoulder and said hi.

She rose in one fluid motion so quickly and smoothly the woman winced, even as Ella looked around and then clocked where the injured female's treacherous partner had gone.

Gabriel might not be nipping at his heels, but what was to be his newest nightmare was...albeit not for very long. Ella wasn't the sort of predator who played with her food, or her enemies.

She'd caught him quickly; quicker than she'd anticipated in truth. When he thought she was one of the eight-balls, he'd gibbered, dribbled and pleaded for his disgusting existence to continue. She merely looked at him with a genuinely puzzled frown. Why would she spare him after what he'd done to the woman who'd whispered she was his wife?

Even as he suddenly registered she was human and prepared to fight, thinking he could take her, she kicked him onto his back. Her black shitkickers, her most prized possession along with her old leather biker jacket (both of which she'd had to grow into and the latter of which was still too big) left him with a cut to the face.

Those boots were evil; thick soled, heavy lace ups with a steel toe cap under the leather. she never laced them all the way so they were easier to get on and off in a hurry so, over the years, they'd pretty much 'moulded' to her foot shape...she'd just had them so long she guessed.

Oh sure they'd most definitely seen better days, but hadn't everyone? she kicked him again to make sure he'd stay down, and then dropped astride him. His knife in her hand, a knife she'd snagged without him even seeing her take as she'd flipped him.

He struggled - clearly not liking her being in control; but it was half-hearted as she held the knife close to his face. Ella sighed, already bored...and stabbed the blade through his right hand with one swift movement; pinning his palm to the hard ground. Next she did it to his left foot with one of her own small knives concealed in her boot.

He stopped struggling as he screamed in pain; she held a bloody finger to her lips "shhh; you don't want to fetch more eight-balls do you?" she murmured.

His scream immediately shut off to a pained gurgle. "Who…..who are you?" he whispered, his eyes wide and pupils blown in fear.

She leaned over him and smiled darkly "your worst nightmare."

He squeezed his eyes shut and small tears tracked from the corners down the sides of his face – she tutted at him "you left your wife as food for the eight-balls and yet you're only crying for yourself? That's not very husbandly is it?"

"I…..I…..I was going for help…"

She put the same finger with his blood on it to his trembling lips "you're _lying_ ; she's still alive and told me what _really_ happened. If I was a cruel as you, I'd leave you as you left her – trust me, it's a rare few that can fight the eight-balls fully fit, let alone injured. But you're fortunate; I'm _not_ as cruel as you."

She got off him and removed the knives; he got to his knees awkwardly, but before he could babble his thanks his head was rolling across the ground. As she wiped her blades on her old, torn jeans Ella shook her head, murmuring almost to herself "no, I'm much more merciful than you were."

She'd gone back and taken Tegan to the caves they all inhabited now; though it was nothing like their home back then. Then it was just a big cave with a little shelter from the elements, and darkness to hide from any nosy enemies. There she'd nursed Tegan and helped her to recover.

After her there'd been others; some young, some old – most stayed, some moved on. But within three years she and Tegan found themselves in charge of a group of survivors. They'd all, including Tegan, wanted Ella to lead them. She'd baulked at that – helping people was one thing, keeping them alive was fine; but she was _not_ a 'people person' and being in charge was not her style.

Tegan had tried her best to persuade her, for _weeks_ ; but Ariella could be as stubborn as any mule known to man, and refused to budge. Finally her friend capitulated and took on the leadership.

However, everyone knew, even if Ella herself wouldn't accept it, that she was the real Alpha leader; people always went to her first for advice, medical attention and Ella was in charge of those who took on the armed 'guard'/defensive duties with her. still, since she'd formed her 'Pack', along with MacDuff, she'd mellowed...a _little_.

Back in the here and now she got up with a sigh and winced; Jeez she must've been sat there for way too long this time – though she knew the others had given up trying to her to take regular breaks.

There were a few in their merry band she didn't trust that much when it came to Michael – to them he was an angel and therefore an enemy, she understood it even if she didn't agree with it.

But that didn't mean she had to leave him open to attack whilst he was quite obviously away with the fairies (as her mum used to call it when she was small). Besides, she'd decided that as she'd elected to bring him back, then his care was down to her and her alone.

She was wondering whether it was time to revise that idea and finally admit even she couldn't be in two places at once; to call Rusty to come sit with the archangel while she went out to scrounge up some supplies and do some hunting, when the Pack arrived en mass anyway.

"Hey Ella, can we come in?" Little Saska's eyes were huge in her tiny face and her gaze was clamped to the Archangel resting alongside Ariella's well used old sofa. It had been everything from a bed to a seat to even a medical table over the years.

It was so old now that you kind of sank into it when you sat on it but Ella, unlike everyone else when they scavenged large stuff, refused to replace it. Her 'Pack' as they were known at the Post, the strange, stray, parentless kids she took in and had all but adopted, and MacDuff (the closest she would ever get to reuniting with her brother in this lifetime she was sure), all joked it was trying to eat them as they often struggled to escape it's clingy embrace.

She grinned as first Saska's face, and then the rest of the 'Pack' as they began to appear; soon all ten were in the room. They sat down almost as one – ranged in a semi-circle before her. The way they would work as a single unit often freaked people out; but she knew they did so as it was their best chance of survival, especially if she wasn't there to help or protect them.

Right now though, she continued working as she kept her senses trained to the heavenly male next to her; tapping at the keyboard in front of her, checking their perimeters even as she waited for whoever had been nominated to be their speaker. Though she was fairly sure that, as usual, it would be the oldest of them; Rusty.

Aged twelve, he was the unofficial leader, protector and spokesperson for the band of ten orphans that Ariella had insisted be taken in by their settlement, as each one had been found. If she had her own Beta in the close knit group she called her 'Pack', it would be Rusty.

Trustworthy; resilient and wiser than his years, he was a leader of the future. But, unlike the spoilt dictators that controlled Vega, he would be fair and kind – just like she and Tegan. He might even lead the Post; she hoped so – he'd be good for it.

She'd named their small settlement Phoenix Post – Tegan had wanted to call it territory, but Ariella had pointed out that that would only draw the attention of Vega. The whole reason of setting camp where they did, for her at least, was not _just_ because the cave was already there; nor the ease to carve the sandstone into the complex rabbit warren of narrow tunnels and low ceilinged rooms it was now – it was mainly because they were outside the regular sweep point of the Vegan military.

Reisen and Whele always made it sound like they were welcoming people into the safety of Vega as an act of benevolent kindness. But it was _never_ that easy – whenever anyone entered the city they were immediately assessed; anything that would suit the majority, such as medical supplies, clothing and food were always seized for 'main populace distribution'; though many of those who'd got out said that anything truly worth having didn't ever seem to go the same way, despite it being taken.

Likewise if the military sweeps happened on a new settlement within their outlying territory, they would be 'encouraged' – repeatedly if necessary - to go to Vega. Hence the reason Phoenix Post was outside their area; and they did their best to stay under the radar of the ruling elite of Vega.

However, Ella had been known to have more than her fair share of run ins with the Vegan military. But as they'd always been returned in body bags - sans heads - with only one survivor to tote the corpses back in their transport, Vega tended to not try too hard to find them. With the eight-balls constantly testing their defences she guessed they had their hands full.

Oh she knew David Whele wanted her head on a sharp stick for daring to challenge his authority, but Reisen - King Prat as she liked to call him - ensured his partner in crime didn't win _that_ particular vote...not because he was any better or more benevolent than Whele, but purely because he knew that to be seen openly attacking and murdering a few piss poor but independent settlers was not go to float well with the populace of Vega.

All the time the suffering masses felt their leaders were kind and well intentioned at heart, he and the other leeches could cling to power; but let those same suffering masses in on the truth and there would be no amount of soldiers, elite or otherwise, to save the senate from their violent wrath and bloody retribution.

So she and the others remained 'off grid' and out of Vega's way; even when they were spotted they could misdirect and lose the Vegan toy soldiers. So much so it was believed that they were actually residing in a completely different sector.

People who had come to them had been led to believe that everyone outside of Vega, or its allies, was basically toast. That the only safety they could hope for was inside Vega – however, the trade-off for that 'safety' was usually a lot more than most people wanted to pay.

They were like Ariella and Tegan – they didn't mind hard work, rationing; all the things to make supplies last as long as possible. That was understood. But what they did resent was that, unlike at the Post, those in charge lived in ridiculous luxury – whilst those in the lower 'V Designations' struggled to not starve or die of disease or injury as they were almost worked to death.

They saw Phoenix as the way Vega _should_ be run; sure it had its faults - nowhere was perfect these days - but it was run as fair and even handed as it could be.

Their anger at being misled by Vegan officials only heightened Ariella's alarm. She pointed out that she didn't want their little settlement to come to the attention of the Vegan leaders any more than it had to. So far, thankfully, everyone had agreed and so they were still – to her knowledge anyway – largely ignored by Vega as being too much effort for too little gain.

Ella didn't fool herself though, she knew it was likely they were fully aware the Post was out there; but no one knew how many they were and they were buried in the caves – too much trouble to be ferreted out unless it became necessary. Of course with Michael now in residence that might _make_ it necessary, should they find out; hopefully she could keep his presence a secret for as long as possible.

"So, what's occurring?" Ariella smiled at the kids she considered as much her own as if she'd birthed each and every one of them.

As one their heads turned expectantly to Rusty; he sighed, and Ariella's heart tugged - like her he was a reluctant leader and whereas she only had their little group and the guard detail, he had nine other children aged from three to eleven.

He glanced at Michael, then looked levelly at Ariella. "We got questions..."

Their substitute mother nodded and smiled "I'm sure you do...have at it then..."

Rusty nodded...


	4. Chapter Three

_**Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 and I'm not writing it all out again...**_

 _ **WARNING: MIGHT BE SOME MILD SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.**_

 _ **All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.**_

' _ **Thoughts'**_

" **Speech"**

 **(Soskai - pronounced Sos-kay) (Saska - pronounced Sas-ka)**

 **Summary: The 'Pack has some questions... MichaelxOFC**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 _ **An Archangel's Heart**_

 _ **Chapter Three**_

"It's about Michael..."

"Yup, kind of expected that. So, go ahead then; what do you want to know? But remember I don't lie and I don't make hard truths pretty."

"You just tell it like it is' - yeah, we know." Rusty nodded; they all respected and loved her for that. She didn't patronise them or pity them; she _did_ treat them like their opinions counted and that they deserved to know what was happening, good and bad.

"So, first question, from Soskai..." Soskai was a little boy about four, he and Saska had been their most recent rescues. Going on the similarity of names and ages (Saska was around three), Ariella figured they were probably cousins. She'd found the children near the bodies of what looked like a medium sized family group judging by the facial similarities between the female corpses...well, the ones that still _had_ faces. Ella grinned at Soskai, sitting with his arm round Saska, as Rusty asked "is Michael going to die?"

"I honestly don't know; he won't seem to wake up. In fact I was about to come get you to stay with him whilst I go out for a scavenger hunt" It was what they called Ella's expeditions for supplies and food.

"Was he _very_ sick then? Coz he's a angel, and a big boss angel too - surely them's immortal?" the young boy frowned, clearly puzzled.

Ella nodded "I thought so too, but it seems they can be hurt like us sometimes and if that hurt isn't looked after then they die."

Rusty and the others thought about this for a moment, then shared a look between them. He nodded and turned to Ella "like 'die' die, or just angel die?"

It was her turn to look thoughtful "is there a difference?"

Rusty shrugged "that's what we're asking _you..."_

She sighed "short answer is - I don't know. I mean _is_ there even a heaven anymore? Even if there is, is there actually anyone still up there, assuming it _is_ even 'up'? The thing is, even those of us around when the poop hit the ventilating system and started to run..." the kids all pulled faces and giggled, Ella smiled "...who _did_ believe in God and the angels, we never really... _thought_ about the details, you know?"

Rusty nodded "sure, we get that - but didn't you ask a grown-up or someone?"

"What did they know, Rus? People, even kids, who said they'd died and come back only ever spoke of tunnels with a light at the end. Some adults mentioned family members who died before them coming to meet them and, in their cases, telling them they were 'too soon' or it wasn't their 'time' yet and sending them back. But they were laughed at, ridiculed; the kids were bullied, the adults called 'crazy' and ignored. By the time everyone realised they were _not_ 'crazy', an eightball was gnawing on their elbow joint or they _were_ the eightball."

Ella shook her head as vivid memories of events she kept buried suddenly threatened to engulf her. That could _not_ happen; she _really_ needed to keep the anger, frustration and helplessness she'd felt as a twelve year old, a deep set rage that still seethed under the surface, on a tight leash.

She knew the rule she'd been raised with, the one she'd _never_ broken - never, _ever_ lose her temper. So she dug her fingernails so hard into her palms she knew they'd probably bleed a little. "The thing is Rus, no one knows; that's it, period, end of story. But that doesn't mean Michael shouldn't be helped."

She looked across at the unconscious archangel, lying motionless in her bed and sighed "of course if he doesn't wake up soon, then all bets are off."

Soskai shuffled forward, his little face concerned "would you leave us?"

Ella shook her head vehemently "I might have to leave Phoenix Post, but you guys are totally coming with. I gave you all my word in blood..." she pointed to the rusty coloured thumbprints on the wall by her bed, one for each child she'd 'adopted' "...that once you were with me, that was it. We were family, no arguments. Where I went, so did you; where you went, so did I. That stands now and _always_ will."

"We go because he's dying?" Rusty wanted to be clear.

"He's not dying, not now - I don't think so anyway" she shrugged. "But he's not waking up either. However, I still need to do my part here - guard duties, Post duties, scavenging, hunting. It doesn't stop because of Michael; lots of folks here have been good about all this, especially my Pack..." she smiled proudly at them and they all grinned in return "...but the fact is I got chores same as everyone. We don't operate like Vega or the other big settlements do - we all get the same; we _all_ work, we _all_ share. It's all equal; and I don't get to change the rules just because they're inconvenient right now."

"You should maybe talk to him." Rusty offered "when Ollie..." he pointed at a boy of about ten who was a close friend "..got that real bad fever, you used to talk to him until you were hoarse. Telling stories and stuff about your life. Maybe you could do that with the angel there? Give it one last shot Ella, we got your back. Me and Jonah…." Jonah was Rusty's best friend, deputy, and second eldest at eleven "we can keep things even – we can even do the hunting and stuff for you."

Ella hugged them "you two are my eyes and ears; you all are…." She looked at all the children who, once again, beamed at her. Another reason they all adored her was because she treated them like they mattered; like their opinions and ideas were truly relevant.

Any information they had, any intel they gained, she always thanked them for and always listened – really _listened_ – to them. Listened as well to their stories of the day; laughed with them, held them when they cried or woke up screaming with nightmares. She was there if they were hurt physically; or if, as she put it, their 'heart hurt' – Ella was the sole constant in their lives, and they knew how hard she worked to make sure of that. She knew how much they needed at least one person to just stay put and not vanish….

She was also well aware they were 'different' and never held it against them; told them she was like them and they had to stick together. Watching her fight, they understood. As far as the Pack was concerned they sun rose and set with Ella. Together, they formed a formidable group; though they didn't know it…..not yet.

As people used to say, before the War, 'God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform'. But if God wasn't around…well, someone else had to take charge and ensure Good triumphed in the end didn't they? And, of course, 'they' had…Ella and her Pack had a vital role to play in what was coming; of course none of them knew it yet – but then Good didn't always have to be the boy scout and play totally fair did it? Sometimes even the Light could play tricks in the Dark….


	5. Chapter Four

_**Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 and I'm not writing it all out again...**_

 _ **WARNING: MIGHT BE SOME MILD SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.**_

 _ **All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.**_

' _ **Thoughts'**_

" **Speech"**

 **Summary: Ariella decides to take her Pack's advice – why not talk to the Archangel; it's not like he can answer back, is it? MichaelxOFC**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 _ **An Archangel's Heart**_

 _ **Chapter Four**_

Well, Rusty had a point – Ella sighed "okay, here's the deal – I _will_ take you up on your offer. _But,_ and it's a big one, this is a one-time deal for right _now_. If Mr Hulking Archangel there does not wake up in the next twelve hours, I'm either going to wake him up by shaking him until his teeth rattle, or we go with him somewhere else and I drop him off a cliff and see if that works. The Pack are _not_ my personal slaves; I have chores same as anyone, and you guys are _not_ doing them for me if Michael takes a few centuries to wake the hell up. Deal?"

Rusty rolled his eyes but caved, he knew she would not be budged – as the first of her Pack he knew her better than any of them. She could be more stubborn that a gaggle of toddlers glued together. He shook the hand Ella was holding out "deal."

She pulled him in for a hug "I know, I know – I'm a pest. But you are _still_ kids and should get at least a _little_ bit of time each day to _be_ kids. Play, squabble, charge about like demented loons; that's what being a kid _is._ So I will do my best to make sure you get that time because, trust me, being grown up sucks and it sneaks up on you _way_ too quickly – especially these days."

Rusty nodded, knowing she was speaking the truth. Sometimes he laid awake at night worrying about the rest of the Pack, and himself; how long he and Ella could keep how different they were a secret. Being able to just _play_ was a brilliant pressure relief; he felt good when he ran around and messed about with the others. Though he'd _never_ admit it; he wanted Ella to know she could always rely on him – he might be only twelve but he could be a grown up; just like she'd had to be the day the War of Extermination had started.

He grabbed Jonah and Ollie and they went out to hunt and scavenge – Essie, aged ten, grabbed Elianora who was nine and they went to do Ariella's chores. The rest of them gathered round knowing that if Ariella was going to just 'talk' then she'd want them to give her a subject and it was likely there'd be a story in the offing.

The younger Pack members _adored_ her stories; she told them in a way that they could almost picture what she was saying playing out like an old movie thing she'd told them used to be around when she was a kid. Books that were moving pictures with people saying the book words…..wow, they'd have loved to have seen one of them. But Ariella's stories were the next best thing they were sure – their imaginations were young and fertile enough to bring the world she spelt out with words to life easily.

Sure enough she looked at the rest of the Pack gathered around her "well, what do think I should tell him about?"

A quick conference took place – mutterings and 'no!' rattled around, until nods replaced dissent. Soskai looked up "the last day – the last day you had that was normal and then the War with the Angels started."

Ella, for her part, never understood why they loved to hear about that day and into the night that changed everything forever. For her it was a certain level of hell to relive the day the world went crazy never to recover and she'd realised, with growing dread and an awful certainty, that she'd never see her beloved mum or brother ever again.

She forced a smile "sure – okay then. Well, my cousin was getting married and I was one of the few girls in the family. Most of my cousins, and I had a _lot_ , were boys. So my aunt wanted me to be a bridesmaid; because money was tight for my parents, I was the only one who could go. My aunt was well off and she _could've_ paid for us _all_ to go, but she loathed my father and didn't want him coming. My mum was ill and couldn't travel on her own and my brother was at college so he couldn't come even if he wanted to, and he didn't want to 'get mixed up in all the girly stuff'. So that left just me on my own."

She shrugged, but the kids could tell it upset her. Still, she took a deep breath and continued "my aunt flew over from the US to the UK to collect me and we flew back together; it was meant to be a long weekend - Friday to Sunday afternoon with the wedding on the Saturday. I didn't care about jet lag; when you're going into different times and it made you very tired; I just wanted to do it and go home. _She'd_ wanted to take me and the other kids who were involved in the wedding to Disneyland as a thank you treat - it was a place kids loved to visit and it cost tons to go there. But I just wanted to go home as soon as I possibly could and had said I didn't want to take the two weeks for that, I just really wanted to go home the next day as she'd promised I could."

She sighed as she remembered the weird look her aunt had given her as she'd asked her incredulously "you don't want to go _to Disneyland? Seriously?_ Are you sick or something; I mean is there something _else?_ "

Ella could understand her aunt's disbelief and wariness – her 'differences' had been studiously ignored by her father, but her beloved mum had told her all the firstborn females in her family were a little….odd. But _she_ was truly _one of a kind_. Even as a baby she'd never had a temper tantrum, always kept a tight rein on her temper.

Ella nodded at the Pack before her "I'd _begged_ my mum not to make me go – I'd told her I felt sick with the feeling something awful was about to happen. That for months now I'd had a feeling here…." She tapped her chest "that a clock inside me was ticking down…..winding down to something; something _very_ bad. I didn't know what, but it was awful enough to make me feel really ill. I didn't want to be away from home when the clock stopped; and it would do that soon – that clock was about to stop and I knew it."

Shaking her head at memories of events she had no way to change now any more than she had at the time, she continued "but my mum just patted my hand and said that my aunt would take care of me and she and my brother would be fine. If it was that bad perhaps the plane wouldn't even leave, either to bring my aunt to us or take me and her back here to America."

Soskai nodded "but it did both."

"Yup; we even made it through the wedding without a hitch. But I knew we didn't have long; I kept praying for just one more day before anything happened. I was supposed to be flying back to England the next day at 4pm, but it wasn't to be. Just as the reception in this posh golf resort on the outskirts of the town my aunt lived in had started, some people came running in saying weird stuff was happening outside. Flies had killed a couple of pet dogs and a cat; a couple of golfers had gone all crazy and started battering the two guys they were with with their golf clubs.

As more people began arriving, telling increasingly weird stories, my aunt asked that the doors to the function room were closed to try and keep the mounting hysteria outside. My cousin and her new husband decided to leave a few minutes later – they were concerned that if there was some kind of terrorist attack or even just a threat of one, they'd be better off leaving for their honeymoon right then rather than later that evening.

I'd tried to get them to stop; the clock inside me had stopped in the few minutes before my cousin had said she was leaving. I felt like I had ice trickling down the back of my neck and I thought I'd stop breathing I was so absolutely terrified. Instead my aunt let her go; I never saw them again."

Ella closed her eyes for a moment and then went on "my aunt decided it was getting late and so we children should go up to our hotel rooms in the main building. I was sharing a room with her; my other young cousins were farmed out between various older relatives on the same floor so we weren't alone.

I'd like to say I just waited for something to happen, but I was so exhausted with nerves, jet lag and pure fear – I just wanted it to be over…..whatever 'it' was. So I just crashed out on the bed, I barely made it into my pyjamas. The next thing I remember was my aunt waking me with her hand over my mouth. I've never seen her look so frightened; she held her finger to her lips until she was sure I'd be quiet. Then she kept apologising for bringing me away from my mum and my brother. She kept muttering she should've listened to me, that I was right…."

Ella shook her head "I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but the sick feeling of dread in my chest had got worse. She was shaking and she made me put my clothes on; then she put me in the wardrobe – a cupboard for clothes. She sat me on the floor and told me to stay there and stay quiet until either she or one of my other relatives came for me. I don't think I said a word in the few minutes she was with me. She patted my cheek, told me I'd be alright but to stay put; then she left."

She closed her eyes as the next memories swamped her. Getting her emotions under control she pressed on; knowing that, to the Pack, this was just a story – even though for her it was real. "I stayed there for what seemed like hours and hours, but was probably less than two; there were screams and cries outside the room. Some I recognised as cousins and aunts and uncles; eventually I got more scared waiting and so, once the screaming and crying died down I got up and crept out of the closet. I moved quietly to the room door and opened it.

I'll never forget what I saw – there were bodies everywhere; some were weirdly misshapen, like they'd been shaken really quickly and it had changed them somehow. I know now they'd been taken over by the eight-balls, but had been killed. Others were just dead – none of my relatives had been taken over though, I found the bodies."

Ella sighed "it was hard knowing I was alone; but I also knew I couldn't stay, so I crept back to the room, got my backpack and put some bits and pieces in it – change of clothes, underwear, I raided the mini fridge in the room; you remember I told you about those….." the Pack all nodded "…..I took all the stuff that was in it, even the booze."

She chuckled "I didn't even know what I'd do with it, but I figured it might be useful. I grabbed the stuff from the bathroom and then grabbed my parka and let myself out. I ran across the grounds, all the time looking out for my family – it was then I started to find all the bodies. I quickly realised then I was alone; they were all dead."

There were gasps from the Pack; even though they knew this story, they were still shocked at the thought of a little Ariella all alone. "I ran as fast as I could, but I could hear weird growling noises around me and they were getting closer – I was so scared I'm pretty sure I was holding my breath."

Andy, aged eight, had eyes like saucers "did the eight-balls find you?"

"Yeah they did; it was inevitable really – I mean I was living and breathing and I wasn't possessed by one of them, so they'd have found me sooner or later." She shrugged "at least this way I was out in the open and I was able to fight better than if they'd caught me in the closet or the room."

"But you were scared" Soskai nodded "didn't that stop you fighting?"

Ella thought for a moment "no; you know, it didn't. It should've – it definitely should've, because I was only twelve and we hadn't grown up with the War like you guys have. We hadn't learnt to be brave like you have" little chests puffed out with pride that she thought they were brave compared to her back then, "so I should've been so scared I couldn't fight. But I was only scared when I was running away; when I realised I was going to have fight, suddenly I was so calm…..it was really weird. I mean I was always calm when I fought with my brother or my cousins because of controlling my temper; but this was different. These were monsters; I _should've_ been terrified, but nope – I just turned to meet them….."

"Then what?" Andy asked.

Ella nodded "you know; it's not like I haven't told you all this before…"

"Yeah, but you don't tell it as often as all the others – I can count on one hand the amount of times you've told us this story."

"Okay, well, I was looking for a weapon; because I was pretty sure I couldn't fight whatever was making that noise on my own with just my little fists…"

"Yeah, but even MacDuff says they sure are _bony_ little fists Ella" Soskai nodded earnestly.

She smirked "true that, little man, true that – but these were eight-balls, though I didn't know it right then. So I saw some golf clubs and picked them up and started swinging as soon as this….thing…this monster, swooped at me. I clumped him on the head, three times, really quick and _very_ hard and down he dropped; then I stabbed him in the eye with the handle end. Eventually I ran out of clubs, but I found a bit of broken pipe and used that. Then I heard Gabriel's horn – that awful horn – and I took off running again. I knew I didn't want to be around when whatever that horn was calling arrived."

She remembered where she spent the rest of the night "I hid in the trunk of a tree in a little wooded area about five miles away; Lord, but I was tired. When daylight came I thought it would be safe. I thought they were vampires or something; so I thought daylight would hurt them and I'd be alright. But I quickly realised they weren't _those_ sort of monsters and the daylight was worse for moving about in because the eight-balls and angels could see us way faster than we could see them."

"When did you get your swords?"

"I broke into a gun shop about a week later – I didn't get _these_ swords" she gestured toher beloved katanas strapped to her back where they always were – even when she was asleep. It was well known that Ella never went anywhere unarmed – even when she went to the waterfall right in the back of the caverns to bathe, a rare hot spring with an opening to the sunshine and sky, she had a small butterfly knife strapped to her thigh whilst she washed. She would laugh at MacDuff and tell him she felt more naked without weapons on her somewhere, than she ever did without clothing.

"But I did get some; I taught myself to use them, but I admit I seemed to have natural ability with swords and bows. Guns, not so much" she pulled a face "but we Brits didn't like guns, so perhaps it's genetics." The Pack all laughed.

Michael fidgeted; the first true movement he'd made since she'd brought him back to the Outpost. She looked over and he was frowning – his eyelids were moving and she looked back at the kids with a grin; Andy gave her a thumbs up.

"So?" Soskai asked; keen to keep the story going if it brought the big boss angel around and kept them in the caves he loved and felt safe in.

"So I got some smaller swords, some training katanas I think they were, a bow and some arrows. The katanas were pretty blunt, but I figured out how to sharpen them and then I made sure they'd slice a hair in two. I didn't like stealing but, by then, there wasn't really anyone left to ask anyway."

"What about your family?" Abigail asked quietly; a small, slight, blond girl of about nine, with enormous blue eyes. She was a recent find – huddled in a little hollow of a hole under a rock, Ariella had got a pretty serious shock off her when she'd touched her. As soon as Abbie had opened her eyes and realised that Ariella wasn't an eight-ball she was full of apologies; but the older woman had just laughed it off and called it 'cool'. Abbie adored her and had become the newest Pack addition.

"Oh well…" Ella took a moment to swallow the ball of hurt that still sat in her chest whenever she thought about her mum and her brother. "I don't know. I realised very quickly I wouldn't be getting back to them, that I had no way of contacting them and I was pretty sure what had happened here, had happened everywhere. I could only hope they were safe….." she hesitated and then added very quietly "but I kind of knew my mum wouldn't have lasted long; her health relied on lots of medicines and she wouldn't have got those after a very short while."

Soskai and Abbie got up and came over and hugged her tightly. Moments later the others fell through the door "what's wrong?" Rusty demanded "what's happened to Ariella?"

"She was remembering her mum…." Andy told him, his own voice thick with unshed tears; his own memories of lost loved ones crashing in on him at the same time he thought of Ella's.

Ella was their leader; she was the warrior. Ella was what Ariella called herself when she went hunting – either food, enemies, or eight-balls – she was a cold, calculating fighter then. Ariella was the one that took care of them when they were sad or had nightmares, looked after them when they were sick. She was the one who was gentle and kind with the old ones, and listened to _their_ stories of the time before the War.

Ariella would cry for her loved ones long gone; but not Ella. Ariella would say Ella held the leash on the 'other' side of her. Her grand-da, her father's father, had told her never to tame that part of her that was 'other', for one day it would be needed; but to _always_ keep it on a leash.

Ariella had told them she could never let it loose; never let the leash slip free. So Ella held it tight; acknowledged the darkness of the world they now lived in, and merely fought their enemies with an ease that was as scary as it was beautiful to watch.

One day Ariella knew the time would come when the 'other' in her would be free, for her grand-da had told her so when she was only six years old. He'd told her that hell would tremble and heaven shiver when she finally let it go. Ariella had cried and asked if she'd be evil; a dark thing. He'd laughed and said no, that her shining light would blind the world – that that light would change things for the better but it had to be at the right time and she'd know that time.

He told her of an old film where a man called Spock was dying. His friend, called Kirk, was mad at him for sacrificing his life to save him and Spock's other friends. But Spock had said, just before he died, that "the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, or the one". Ariella's grand-da had told her to remember that – not to let emotion sway her. When the time came, the 'other' in her would be free to save the many.

Rusty glared at them "you shouldn't make her sad; don't make her tell that story of the first day of the War. How many times have I told you that?"

The pack looked at their Beta chastened. But Ariella shook her head at him "it's fine Russ; we need to remember them we've lost. That way they're still alive and with us."

He huffed and then grinned "look! Ariella, _look!"_

She looked round and found herself staring into the very blue eyes of Michael "oh well, seems you were right Russ – I bored him awake."


	6. Chapter Five

_**Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 and I'm not writing it all out again...**_

 _ **WARNING: MIGHT BE SOME MILD SWEARING – SO BE WARNED. READ AT OWN RISK.**_

 _ **All reviews, and constructive criticism, gratefully received – but no flaming please; and I will try to update regularly.**_

' _ **Thoughts'**_

" **Speech"**

 **Summary: Michael is finally awake – what will he make of Ariella and her 'Pack'? MichaelxOFC**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 _ **An Archangel's Heart**_

 _ **Chapter Five**_

She flashed a smile at him "hello sleeping beauty; be thankful I didn't wake you with a kiss….." she pointed at herself "this face has driven many to head for the hills….."

Michael stared – though not a stunning beauty like Becca, she was more captivating; something in her pale blue eyes trapped him. He sincerely doubted men would run from her; he wouldn't. However, he swallowed "where am I? Who are _you_?"

Ella rolled her eyes "thanks for saving me" would be a more appropriate response about now, buster…"

"My name is Michael….."

She nodded "oh I'm completely clear as to who you are – you are the Archangel Michael. You are also the patron saint of warriors, the sick and injured and also mariners. Seems you get around when it comes to the whole patron saint thing." She smiled to let him know she was teasing.

However, he was clearly not in the mood "you know me and yet I still live?"

"Why would we kill you? You've gone above and beyond for much longer than the last twenty-five years for the human race. You were there for us from the day God made us. But especially since the Extermination war you've been endeavouring to keep us alive as a species…."

"You have not heard of my actions at Vega….." Michael sighed closing his eyes in defeat.

She flicked his forehead making him jump "yes, actually; we have. But why would one moment of madness – justified in my eyes with what was happening – negate all the good you've done? Why would that moment of rage make us turn our backs on you?"

He pulled himself up, eyeing the children who were watching him in rapt attention. "What of you? Do agree with her? Do you think I am still this side of redemption?"

Soskai nodded "I don't know what redemption means; but if Ariella says we should give it to you, then sure." The little boy pointed at Ella.

Michael looked at the woman beside him "your name is Ariella?"

She smiled and nodded "yes, and yes I do know what it means. It's the female version of the name 'Ariel' which means lion of God. Ariella therefore means lioness of God." She shrugged "my mum often told me the meaning; she said I was born to be a warrior."

"Were you?"

"I've been fighting since I was twelve years old and the world went mad."

Michael nodded "I see – many children lost childhoods that night."

"Yes, you're right – we did. But even more have never even had one" she nodded towards the small children surrounding them. "So I don't think I had it so hard – at least I had a bit of a childhood and I had a some fun growing up."

"Which you teach them."

"How do you know? I could be a real slave driver and these kids could be living in abject misery."

Michael pointed to the children who were laughing hysterically at the silly picture of them she was painting "their reaction tells me that's all a load of bull."

Ariella rolled her eyes at the children "you lot spoil all my fun – remember I have a rep to protect at Vega; those guys will _never_ believe _I'm_ the Ghost all the time you lot let them think I'm a pushover."

Michael's eyes widened _"you're_ the _Ghost?"_

Ariella sighed "you don't have to sound _quite_ so surprised and incredulous."

He shrugged stiffly "you're not what I imagined..."

"Well, neither are you - seems we were both fated to be disappointments, weren't we?"

He caught the momentary flare of annoyance and...hurt. He sighed; he was under no illusion that anyone else had fought to save him - so this woman and her strange collection of children were the only ones. Yet he'd hurt her - it was a sudden concern he was turning into his brother. Gabriel too wouldn't have cared about the feelings of those who helped him.

Soskai frowned, deciding he had the courage to pat Michael's arm "you're never going to be like your brother - he's a real mean bully and very scary. _You_ seem nice..."

Michael wanted to question the boy as to how he'd seemingly read his thoughts, but felt it could wait - he wasn't yet strong enough to fight his brethren and if he upset the children he could almost guarantee this strange woman would toss him at Gabriel's feet without a second thought, despite her assurances.

Soskai's frown deepened and he dared to poke the arm he'd just been patting "Ariella would never give you up to Vega, let alone your brother, so stop thinking bad things about us - especially _her_!"

Michael looked at Ella "how does he do that?"

"Do what?"

"Read my mind?"

Ariella shook her head "he didn't; he's just very astute."

Michael's voice echoed his obvious disbelief "he's about four."

"He's very astute for four" Ella replied with a shrug.

Before Michael could say more Abigail came over, her face showing her annoyance at the Archangel "can I hurt him? He's being mean.."

Ella rolled her eye's, as she leant against the wall and folded her arms "no; you cannot. You have _literally_ watched me fight to _save_ him; so no."

Abi scowled once more at Michael even as she spoke to Ella "but he's mean."

"No, he's _rude_ ; there's a difference."

Michael broke into the stand-off as he looked at a small girl under ten and with huge blue eyes and a mop of blonde hair "short of 'cuteing' me to death, how could that child hurt _me_?"

"You'd be surprised. Don't let the angelic look fool you - after all, right up until the Extermination War most people thought angels sat on clouds with fuffy white wings and strummed harps. Boy, did we learn the truth the hard way. Well, _my_ little angels are the same - just like me, they may _look_ weak and vulnerable, but every one of them has killed at least one of the angelic dogs, the ones we call 'Eight Balls'."

Again Michael's disbelief was evident on both his face and in his voice _"them?"_

"Them."

Knowing that even the Archangel Michael would never win an argument with Ariella, especially where her Pack were concerned, Rusty gathered the children up "c'mon little bro" he nodded to Soskai "time to go scavenging. Let's leave Ariella to chat for a bit alright?"

With a nod to Ella and Michael he herded them all outside. Michael turned his attention to the woman beside him, as realisation began to dawn "they're not like others are they?"

Ella shrugged this time in genuine dismissal, knowing there was no way she could ever really explain what they were because even she didn't truly understand it "we're all a little...complicated. Just the way it is...I take them because no one else would - your lot frightened the snot out of people, so anyone even remotely...different would not survive well anywhere, even here where we're more accepting than most."

"So it's my fault?"

"I never said that – you had a job to do; which you didn't, but I get it. Orders are orders – it's just you broke yours."

"Would you? Would you have done as I did, or as my brother?"

Ariella smiled "oh I'd have followed you, no doubt, no question. Condemning the entirety of humanity to death breaks a promise God himself made after the Flood. He _promised_ Noah that he would never again wipe out mankind – the fact He did…well, that's on Him."

Michael smiled ruefully "you speak as if you know Him…"

Once again she shrugged unconcernedly "I grew up with a devoutly methodist Irish grandmother and an ex-communicated catholic English grandmother. My Irish grandmother would make Sundays spent with her _all_ about God, the bible and religion. Went to Chapel twice…." She smiled at a memory she'd all but forgotten "I recall I had a white coat, white beret, white crocheted dress, white tights, white shoes and white gloves…."

" _Gloves?_ How old were you?"

"Oh yes, even I had to wear gloves we were in Chapel after all and I was six."

" _All_ of it was _white_ and _you_ were _six?"_

Ariella chuckled at his obvious surprise "I know right? AND I was such a tomboy – climbing trees with my cousins running around and being an urchin….. _me_ wearing white was tempting even God's miracles I'm sure. But I always managed it – mind you, I was always the last to dress up and the first to get changed, so I always had it on for the minimum amount of time – why tempt fate, right?"

"You sound a….."

"Rapscallion – that's what my Irish grandmother called me; I was a rapscallion…..well, until I turned eight – then I became a little hellion….I know rapscallion meant I was a little scamp and hellion meant I was a troublemaker. But I think it all just really meant that until I was eight she thought I could still be made to be girly, that one day I'd love to wear dresses and bake; but when I became eight she finally realised I was always going to be a tomboy – someone who was more at home outside digging in the vegetable patch or up a tree reading a book, or helping in the fields of a local farm than I would be sat inside crocheting or knitting whilst wearing a frilly pink dress."

Michael nodded "I agree – I couldn't picture you doing the latter…."

She gave him a mischievous grin "hey I didn't always look like this – when I was a kid I was teeny and cute as a button; everyone said so. When people discovered I could fight better than the boys, and I mean real _boxing_ , not just the 'slappy bitey' thing most girls do; that I could climb trees, race, dig and do everything better than the boys, they were _always_ shocked."

"So you were the leader?" he smiled, warming to her. There was definitely something about her that drew him in.

"Yeah, not that I wanted to be; it was just that all the kids came to me if they had a problem, were hurt or were scared. I was eleven when I was told that when I grew up and Gramps died, my Irish grandfather, then I would be the head of the family, the chieftain of the clan." Her smile faded as she once again realised all those she held in her memory were now long dead – for all she knew she was the last of her family, her blood. Sighing she added "well, not now obviously – they're all dead and there's only me, so no clan to herd – just a load of kids that make herding cats look easy."

Michael touched her hand as she sat on the bed "I'm sorry – I'm sorry your world died when you were still so young and unprepared."

She shook her head "not your fault; you did your best to save us – but places like Vega with the Reisens and Wheles running them has shown me perhaps God and your brother weren't wrong – maybe we are too stupid to learn. I mean instead of trying to be fair like we are here; you get Resen and Whele, and a myriad of leaders of other huge settlements, all living in luxury whilst the people beneath them grovel around for crumbs to live on."

He could tell she was getting angry "I don't think that was how general Reisen wanted it to be – but David Whele…" he tailed off.

She nodded "he was a televangelist – says it all. Wow, must've been as much of a shock for him as the atheists when he realised what was happening. I get that bad stuff happened to him – but he wasn't a good person and his own cowardice was what got his wife and daughter killed."

Michael frowned "how do you know?"

"I just do – it's weird; but there you go. Just one of my _many_ quirks, trust me."

Michael looked at her closely "are you an angel? You need not hide from me; I see what good you do here….." She laughed then; a really cheeky, genuine laugh and Michael couldn't help but smile "I take it I'm wrong?"

Before she could reply, Rusty came racing in – grinning from ear to ear, hotly pursued by the other children all laughing and giggling as well – "you made her laugh; wow, Ariella rarely laughs, not properly like this!" He slapped Michael on the arm "thank you Michael, thank you!"

Michael felt sad that to hear their de facto leader laugh out loud was so clearly a rarity that the children reacted so animatedly. As he nodded and smiled at the happy young boy before him Ariella just waved a hand "sorry, but that was just wonderful – I've been called many, many things in my life, Michael but an angel is not one of them….."

He frowned slightly "you consider it an insult?"

"No, actually I don't so long as you mean an angel like you – one who does what is right. I've always considered angels to be the good guys; of course I was wrong for the majority of them – but then there's you and the many you protected who just wanted to be neutral to the whole war. I can respect that; not everyone wants to pick a side."

He shook his head "you're too astute."

"Well that and I heard what happened to send you off the deep end at Vega. For what it's worth, I'm on your side with that – what they did to those angels was disgusting; they were neutral – not a threat to either side. But I have no doubt that David Whele was behind it; it has his fingerprint all over it. Just like the little kid that that Alex was pals with – Bixby wasn't it? Yeah, he snuffed her out just like she was a candle. To me anyone who can kill an innocent child is capable of _anything_. I would no more trust him than I would your brother….."

Michael shook his head "Bixby was badly injured and died from those injuries. Everything was done to save her – but how do you know about Alex?"

She rolled her eyes "I told you – I just know this stuff. It's not like I want to – but I do. So I'm telling you…..David Whele did kill the kid called Bixby. So to butcher and torture angels was merely part of his every day to him; of course he would never get his own hands dirty on something like that – Bixby was one thing; best way to keep a secret is to tell no one. So it was better for him if he ended her life himself. But the angels were too explosive – therefore let others follow his orders, verbal of course; that way he has complete deniability. In your shoes I'd have done the exact same thing….."

"I was wrong…."

"You were _angry_ – you were _right_ to be angry. If someone hurt my pack" she nodded at the children "I would torch the world….."

He could see she meant it "it doesn't make my revenge just…."

"Perhaps not; but it makes it understandable." As he went to speak again she held up her hand "there's nothing you will say that will make me condemn you, Michael – so better to save your breath."

Rusty nodded "when Ella decides you're a friend _nothing_ will make her betray you. When she trusts you it's implicitely; no question. Now we better get back to our chores." He hugged Ariella tight "it's nice to know you still laugh Ariella; it made our hearts happy."

She ruffled his hair "you all make my heart happy all the time, Russ."

The children left and Michael smiled "he must have excellent hearing; I didn't think you laughed that loud."

"He doesn't and I didn't. Like said – we're complicated."

Michael nodded "that you did….." and for the first time in almost forever, he felt as if he'd finally come home. For the first time since the War began he had hope….a tentative one, a tiny flame barely flickering in the darkness – but it was there none the less.


End file.
